Dentists and oral surgeons often have a difficult time adequately illuminating the inside of a patient's mouth. Most dentists use an overhead lamp mounted on a pedestal and extending above the patient's chair. Usually, either the physician or an assistant must frequently adjust the lamp to illuminate the region of the mouth where dental or surgical work is being performed. Such adjustments are required because the patient's head may move or the dentist may have to work on a different tooth or in a different location in the mouth. Each time the position of the light needs to be changed, the dental procedure is interrupted. The dentist must then reposition the lamp himself or provide appropriate instructions to his assistant. In either event, manual manipulation of the dental lamp is time consuming and annoying. Moreover, standard overhead dental lamps are located a distance from the mouth and typically do not provide optimal illumination. At present, such lights are only able to illuminate a 28 mm surface within the mouth. This limited area of lighting usually necessitates even further adjustments of the light.
Presently, fiberoptic illuminators are widely employed in medical and surgical procedures. However, dentists and oral surgeons only occasionally utilize such illuminators. These instruments typically feature a headlamp that is worn by the physician and tethered by a fiberoptic cable to a light source. Dentists performing work inside the patient's mouth normally dislike wearing an item that ties or tethers them to another instrument. Such an arrangement restricts their freedom of movement during the dental procedure. Furthermore utilizing standard fiberoptic illumination systems requires the purchase and introduction of expensive and sometimes bulky equipment into the dental office. Non-dental surgical headlamps exhibit similar disadvantages.
Fiberoptic lighting has also been attached to dental mirrors used directly inside the patient's mouth. Unfortunately, such illuminated dental mirrors are rather bulky and seriously limit the physician's working area within the mouth. Additionally, these appliances cannot be rested in the patient's mouth, and instead, must be constantly held and manipulated by the dentist or surgeon. Fiberoptically lighted mirrors too are tethered to a light source and tend to restrict the wearer's movement.
Shadowing and other lighting problems are also commonly experienced during nondental surgery. Conventional surgical illumination is often bulky and awkward to operate. Available lamps tend to interfere with the surgeon's view and are not readily adjustable. A need exists for an improved light that does not block the surgeon's view and is adjustable for use in various surgical environments.